saintswhodi

Brown no-show at N.O.'s coaching session
Veteran CB 'might have just forgot'
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
By Jeff Duncan
Staff writer
The first day of the Saints' coaching session workouts went according to plan Monday with one notable exception: Fakhir Brown was nowhere to be found.

The starting right cornerback was one of two veterans not present at the team's first two-hour, on-field workout. Defensive tackle Brian Young, who was on a honeymoon after being married Saturday, was excused; Brown was not.








"I don't know where he is," Saints coach Jim Haslett said. "His agent (Ted Marchibroda Jr.) doesn't know where he is. We haven't been able to find him. I don't know what the problem is, if there is one."

Marchibroda didn't not return a phone call from The Times-Picayune.

Brown was a regular participant in the club's offseason conditioning program, Haslett said. The six-year veteran did not alert teammates or coaches that he would be absent.

"His workout days were Tuesday through Thursday and (strength coach) Rock (Gullickson) thinks he might have just forgot that coaching sessions started," Haslett said. "Hopefully, he'll emerge soon."

Center LeCharles Bentley and cornerback Mike McKenzie were conspicuous in their presence after participating in the voluntary six-week conditioning program on a part-time basis.

The workouts are voluntary, but players are expected to participate. The four-days-a-week practice sessions conclude June 8.

"I was happy with the number of players we had there and thought that everybody was in pretty good shape," Haslett said. "Practice went upbeat and smooth."

Wide receiver Chase Lyman was the only member of the team's seven-man draft class not in attendance. The fourth-round pick from California was home in Los Altos, Calif., where he underwent reconstructive surgery Monday night to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Lyman, the Saints' fourth-round draft pick, suffered the injury May 6 during a non-contact practice session at rookie minicamp.

Dr. Arthur Ting of Fremont, Calif., was expected to perform a similar procedure -- repairing the damaged ligament with a tendon from a cadaver -- to the one he did last October after Lyman injured the knee initially as a senior.

The most common ACL reconstruction procedure uses a patient's patellar tendon or hamstring tendon to rebuild the ligament. Donor tissues from cadavers have become increasingly popular because the procedure can be done arthroscopically, resulting in less post-operative pain and swelling. The disadvantage to such procedures is the risk of infection and typically a longer recovery time.

Ting, the team physician for the San Jose Sharks of the NHL, San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer and San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League, has performed surgeries on numerous high-profile athletes, including Barry Bonds, Roger Craig and Barry Sanders. Ting, 53, has performed three surgeries on Bonds' right knee this year.

Haslett said Lyman will rehabilitate the injury in California and is expected to rejoin the team in the fall.